I find myself folding the best hand more often than I should in live poker or otherwise taking a too passive line. I'm not getting bluffed, actually picking off bluffs is one of the things im doing very well, but im often running into villains that are way overvaluing middle strength to good hands and betting like they have the nuts so I end up folding.

A lot of times im finding if I would just say screw it, i have no idea whats going on here and jam, I'd end up with all the money. I cant count the number of times since i started putting in decent time in live play for about 3 mos now that ive folded the best hand and watched 2 villains both get it in with nonsense and see 3rd or 4th pair scoop a $700 pot. Im winning, and I'm winning at a decent clip, but I should be up a lot more.

If its not folding the best hand, its also not putting in a raise to protect my equity when someone is showing a lot of strength unexpectedly and my danger radar goes off.

Im playing really well against the regs and I'm finding them very easy exploit and doing well against passive fish, but the more aggressive fish that are making these kinds of plays are costing me a lot of money. I guess I need to be more willing to just go with a decent hand against them. Their range is so wide and i give them too much credit when they start blasting off with what ends up being weird merged stuff.

Anybody else struggle with this? What other leaks are we all working to fix?

Sometimes i overvalue my hole cards


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Bet sizing post (pre my sizing is generally pretty routine and consistent.

I play 1/2 and i find myself often mindlessly betting half pot. I will alter if I perceive ineslaticity, but a lot of people here are like "monotone board, size this way" etc., and I really need to swot up on that. I really don't have a full grasp when I should be overbetting too, other than to someone who is inelastic when I have a strong hand.

Trying to get bad players to fold mediocre hands.

I’m too sticky.

Parlays during NFL season

Ayoooo i hear that.

punting OOP

Monotone flops.

Curious how you know you're folding the best hand. Are these multi-way pots that get to showdown after you fold? Are opponents showing you bluffs, or worse hands for value?

If they're multi-way pots, you should be folding more when there's a bet and call or especially a raise (yes, even in the republic of Texas).

I seem to have the opposite problem - it's really hard for me to find folds on the river when I start off with a very strong hand. Like you, I seem to do well enough against regs, but I can't believe some of the hands I see fish roll over.

Like, I'll raise pre, flop Broadway, and they'll call flop c-bets and turn barrels for 2/3 pot, to chase a flush with 42s, then donk-bet for 1/4 pot on the river when they get there, instead of check-calling, when I would have bet at least 2/3 pot. They never bet their draws as a semi-bluff when action checks to them, but they'll call any size bet to see the river with any flush draw.

I also seem incapable of resisting the urge to make thin value bets when the draws come in. The only thing keeping my bankroll from getting decimated is how infrequently the fish raise my river bets when they have the nuts. It's unbelievable - they'll chase the nut flush draw, and get there, and then just flat call when I bet 40% pot on the river after flopping top 2 or a set.

I'll shake my head, and they'll be like, "what? I was four to the nut flush on the turn," not realizing I'm shaking my head not because they chased their draw, but because they didn't raise. If you ask them why they didn't raise after making the hand they were chasing, they can't form a coherent answer.

Calling river too wide and not thinking enough about how we arrived here, defaulting to "I has 2 pair, bet is X, call or?" and also just looking for justifications not to fold.

Ex. Super straightforward losing reg opens UTG for big sizing, I call with J9ss IP bleeeeh, Flop Jh-8s-2d, he bets 2/3rds, ehhhh so many good turn cards....

Oof. I feel like that might have been me.

At 1/2 and 1/3, you can be super-unbalanced with your bet sizing post-flop. Most bad players are really inelastic when it comes to calling.

That said...you should bet monotone flops really small.

OP,

Do you think that your folding the best hand to aggro fish Villains is more of a mental game leak and not a strategy/thought process/decisionmaking leak?

There is a good chance that you have some weird mental game issues with this leak and NOT something wrong with your thought processes. Maybe you are playing emotionally in these spots?

OP,

It is also possible that you should work harder on learning the common psychology behind these aggro fish Villains and their weird plays.

If you don't mind me asking, did you come to these live NLHE games fairly recently? If you were an online player before and/or playing different game types before, maybe you just need to go yourself time to get used to the nonsensical way that live NLHE aggro fishes sometimes/often play.

Paying off too many hands on the river.

His folds would be even worse online.

How often do pots go single-raised multiway online though?

Some of the hands that OP thinks he butchered are probably multiway SRPs.

Three second mental lapses on the turn or river, followed by a spew.

When there's a fish at the table more than you would think.

I struggle with extremely loose tables. I don't mean tables with a few loose fish. More so tables where everyone is a maniac loose whale just there to gambol.

My leak is the opposite, folding TPTK against river bluffs who show their cards

Many leaks, but one which springs to mind is calling "cos pot odds" with a reasonable made hand or a draw, when (semi-) bluff raising (or folding) might be a better play.

A lot of stuff on paying off river or getting bluffed on river here.

It's obviously player dependent and stakes dependent, but at the levels I play typically 1/2 and 1/3, Ed Miller's 2nd Rule of not paying off big turn and river bets and raises still applies for your average or unknown villain at these stakes (which is typically a loose passive type).

Sure they may be bluffing, but you probably can't pick those off profitably at the low frequency they do it. And yes their line may be non-sensical, but it's low stakes and lots of lines are non-sensical.

-Playing online w profits from live winnings (biggest leak)

-being too passive when I’m up

-being too Agro when I’m stuck

-not squeezing in proper spots

-squeezing in bad spots

-playing hungry tired or angry

-betting sports bc fomo (Super Bowl March madness etc)

-playing NL mtts bc fomo, series events live or even just the 10k gtd for $40 every day online

-going into the pits to recoup poker losses

-giving friends money to gamble

-playing a slot at any time other than free play

-thinking people will live up to their word and letting it tilt me when they don’t

-going to casino w friends / acquaintances

-falling asleep during online mtts

I listed all my leaks in hope to plug them

Yes, the hands im talking about are multiway SRPs where villains are showing up with weak value that they bet polar and I folded the best hand. And its just the multiway pots im struggling with. Heads up this problem doesnt exist. They arent bluffing. But im playing multiway a lot tighter like you should be and they are blasting off with stuff like weak top pair on a wet board or second pair plus straight draw and it goes bet huge flop and call, bet huge turn and call, check check river and they scoop a massive pot. Im playing in FL, its pretty wild, though not quite as wild as Texas.

Ive seen what you are talking about as far as them not betting strong or even nut hands. Ive seen passive players check back the river w the nuts just because they didnt want to cost someone more money. They are just there to socialize and have fun.